‘This is Lagos, Obasa’s return is totally rejected’, 36 lawmakers declare, insist Meranda remains Speaker

By KEMI KASUMU

All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus met and claimed to pass a vote of confidence on President Bola Tinubu and everybody seems to be so forgetting quickly. But 36 of 40-member Lagos State House of Assembly passed a vote of confidence on Rt Hon Mojisola Lasbat Meranda as their speaker, this same man the APC passed vote of confidence on is threatening to remove her in support of Obasa. Why?

They were speaking with journalists at the Assembly Complex on Thursday February 27 after Obasa was led by a large number of heavily armed policemen to break into the Assembly Complex with his Agege supporters singing solidarity son “Ti Obasa l’awa nse oooo” (meaning we are with Obasa).

The majority lawmakers, who said although they would not take the law into their hands, refused to accept the charades they witnessed by Obasa backed by security agents believed were sent to project him on the order of Abuja.

They refuted Obasa’s claim that he remains the speaker.

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The 36 lawmakers reaffirmed their support for the current Speaker, Mojisola Lasbat Meranda a princess of Lagos State, as they insisted that she is the speaker of the Assembly.

The Chairman, House Committee on Information, Security and Strategy, Steven Ogundipe, stated that the lawmakers remained committed to ensuring that Obasa’s removal stands.

Ogundipe also called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in Lagos State to intervene in the leadership crisis.

He said, “We were approached by our leaders that we should remain calm and take things easy. But we are surprised to see what is happening here today.

“We won’t take laws into our hands, just as we told the staff not to take laws into their hands. But we all belong to different constituencies, and we have our mandate. Whatever has to happen, the leadership should speak with us and not this charade we are seeing.

“We are not happy; we have been law-abiding. We have not gone out of our way against the state. We also want to be respected and to be given our dignity. To be shown that we are elected. I’m appealing to the leadership of our party that we cannot continue this way.”

It was learnt that Obasa, alongside security officials, had stormed the Assembly Complex and entered the Speaker’s Office around 12 noon on Thursday.

The development followed the withdrawal of the security aides of the Speaker, Mojisola Meranda.

The assembly has been embroiled in a leadership crisis since Obasa’s removal as speaker and the subsequent election of Meranda.

Obasa was accused by over 90 per cent of the lawmakers of poor leadership style, perpetual lateness to legislative functions and plenary, high-handedness and disregard for colleague lawmakers and the executive, especially the governor, abuse of office and privileges, intimidation and oppression of members among others.

In an attempt to resolve the crisis, some All Progressives Congress bigwigs, notably former governors of Osun, Ogun and Lagos states, Chief Bisi Akande, Segun Osoba, and Akinwunmi Ambode, respectively, among others, on the directive of President Bola Tinubu, had a series of meetings last weekend with political stakeholders in the state including members of the assembly.

At the end of the meetings, it was learnt that both Obasa and Meranda might be stepping aside for another lawmaker to lead the house.

A member of the Governors Advisory Council (GAC), Chief Muraina Taiwo, noted that one of the seven lawmakers from Lagos West was being considered by the party leaders as the new Speaker.

Vote of confidence

But a known sympathiser of Lagos State indigenes and Nigerian in the Diaspora, Abanikanda Olumoro, in an internet conversation with The DEFENDER late Wednesday February 26, kicked against the move to replace a Lagos indigene with another Lagos indigene, smelling foul play.

“Abanikanda said, It is in the best interest of President Bola Tinubu to leave that lady the way it is because she enjoyed the massive support of her house. If you are saying it is because you don’t want governor and speaker to come from the same Lagos Central, what have you been looking at since the Deputy Governor Babafemi Hamzat, who though is Ogun State indigene but has claimed Lagos West, and Obasa anitge non-indigene claiming Lagos West have been numbe two and number three and he didn’t talk?

“You are pressuring a Lagos West person to step down so as to bring another Lagos West person as Speaker and you are talking about balanced. What kind of balancing is that? That is simply a kind of political propaganda to take the lady out of office.

“The people have elected their speaker and you should leave her alone. Because, your interference in activities of that House of Assembly is affecting governance in Lagos State and it is affecting the people too.

“Only yesterday (Tuesday February 25), ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus met and claimed to pass a vote of confidence on President Bola Tinubu and everybody seems to be so forgetting quickly.

“But 36 of 40-member Lagos State House of Assembly passed a vote of confidence on Rt Hon Mojisola Lasbat Meranda as their speaker, this same man the APC passed vote of confidence on is threatening to remove her in support of Obasa. Why?

“Leave their daughter alone as Speaker of her people,” Abanikanda Olumoro spoke from United Kingdom on Wednesday before the invasion of the Assembly Complex by Obasa on Thursday.